Rwanda: Short Overview
In the year 1994 Rwanda was shaken with a civil war that resulted in genocide. According to the World Bank Group (2015), the country is still recovering from the consequences, but the results it is achieving are significant. This is happening at least partially due to the introduction and implementation of the Rwanda’s Vision 2020.
It is a complex strategy “which seeks to transform Rwanda from a low-income agriculture-based economy to a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy with a middle-income country status by 2020” (The World Bank Group, 2015, para. 3). Large investments in the country’s economy are needed to achieve this.
International Funding and Rwanda Development
Rwanda is one of the countries that receives the most support worldwide, which mostly presupposes donorship, not loans (Swedlund, 2013, p. 358). This support has been provided by the European Commission, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank along with individual governments (UK, US, Germany), and the received aid is being controlled by the Budget Support Harmonization Group (Swedlund, 2013, p. 363).
The funding is used to achieve the goals set by the Vision 2020, and the results are claimed to be tangible. For example, the poverty rate has dropped by 14% during the period between 2001 and 2011 (The World Bank Group, 2015, para. 8). The fact that the country is still recovering from the aftermaths of war justifies its need in foreign funding. Apart from that, it has been noted that Rwanda uses the support offered quite effectively (Hayman, 2009; Swedlund, 2013).
Still, it has been pointed out that foreign aid forms too large a share of the country’s budget (from 30 to 40 %), leaving Rwanda vulnerable to its fluctuation (The World Bank Group, 2015; Hayman, 2009, 584).
This fact was illustrated during in 2013 when as a result of sudden foreign aid shortfall the economic growth of Rwanda decreased by about 4 % in the course of a year. It is true that the country has been even more dependent on the outside funding in the 90s (Swedlund, 2013, p. 363). Still, the reduction of country’s dependence on foreign aid is one of the goals of the Vision 2020 (The World Bank Group, 2015).
Healthy Population and Rwanda Economy
Following the genocide of the end of the previous century, the health state of Rwanda’s population was catastrophic. HIV was spreading as a result of raping, cholera epidemics took place in refugee camps, few children got vaccinated during the period, which resulted in high infant mortality for the next several years.
Apart from that, many health workers got killed during the conflict, health facilities got destructed, and drug supply was uneven. At the time, foreign aid aimed at health care system restoring was insufficient and rather modest compared to what other African countries received (Binagwaho et al., 2014, p. 371). While it was early to worry about the extinction of the nation, at the time, health care improvement was a matter of survival for Rwanda.
The results achieved through proper healthcare strategies and with the help of foreign aid let the country leave that problem behind. Still, for the time being, the improvement of health state in Rwanda is mostly concerned with solving the problems and fixing the results (Betancourt et al., 2012).
It is obvious that prosperity is only possible for a country with a healthy population. As the health of the population increases, its longevity rises as well which is the key to economic development. Apart from that, better medical conditions mean higher standards of life, which results in higher motivation (Binagwaho et al., 2014).
Taking into account the fact that the country’s most valuable resource is people, the Vision 2020 presupposed significant investments in health care system, with particular attention paid to the problems of HIV, maternal health and child mortality (The World Bank Group, 2015). The improvement of maternal care means higher birth rate, and the importance of child health has been shown in the aftermaths of the 1994 crisis.
The money spent annually on restoring the healthcare system and treating chronic diseases like HIV is enormous and quite punishing for the country’s economy, but these expenses are necessary (Binagwaho et al., 2014). By investing in the health of its people, Rwanda invests in its future development.
Foreign Aid and Health Care System
Poverty and chronic diseases (including HIV) are still among Rwanda’s most acute problems (Betancourt et al., 2012). At the same time, the results of the Vision 2020 are already noticeable. For example, during the period between 2006 and 2011 “child mortality was reduced by 50%” (USAID, 2015, para. 8). In part, such results have been achieved due to foreign aid.
Rwanda has received help from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria along with donor countries and other organizations (Nunnenkamp & Öhler, 2011; Hajro & Joyce, 2009). For example, the USAID started working in Rwanda since 1964, annual funding being over $150 million in the year 2012. About two-thirds of this aid is a part health programs, including those aimed at maternal health care promotion and child mortality reduction (USAID, 2015, para. 7).
Similarly, the World Bank assisted Rwanda in achieving Millennium goals which means that the importance of maternal health, child mortality, and disease prevention have been highlighted by the funding organization (The World Bank Group, 2015).
Given the amount of help that Rwanda receives annually, it is evident that the country uses foreign aid to stabilize and develop its health care system to a significant degree. At the same time, the conditions that the country finds itself in justify this fact. What is more important, the country intends to reduce its dependence on the foreign aid and is moving steadily towards completing this goal.
References
Betancourt, T., Williams, T., Kellner, S., Gebre-Medhin, J., Hann, K., & Kayiteshonga, Y. (2012). Interrelatedness of Child Health, Protection and Well-Being: An Application of the SAFE Model in Rwanda. Social Science & Medicine, 74(10), 1504-1511. Web.
Binagwaho, A., Farmer, P., Nsanzimana, S., Karema, C., Gasana, M., Ngirabega, J.,…Drobac, P. (2014). Rwanda 20 years on: investing in life. Lancet, 384(1), 371–375. Web.
Hajro, Z., & Joyce, J. (2009). A True Test: Do IMF Programs Hurt the Poor? Applied Economics, 41(3), 295-306. Web.
Hayman, R. (2009). From Rome to Accra via Kigali: ‘Aid Effectiveness’ in Rwanda. Development Policy Review, 27(5), 581-599. Web.
Nunnenkamp, P., & Öhler, H. (2011). Throwing Foreign Aid at HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries: Missing the Target? World Development, 39(10), 1704-1723. Web.
Swedlund, H. (2013). From Donorship to Ownership? Budget Support and Donor Influence in Rwanda and Tanzania. Public Administration and Development, 33(5), 357-370. Web.
The World Bank Group. (2015). Rwanda: Overview. Web.
USAID. (2015). History of USAID/Rwanda. Web.